Arctech Helsinki Shipyard on December 12, 2013 held a ceremonial launching of multipurpose icebreaking Emergency and Rescue Vessel, the shipbuilder said Thursday.
The dual-acting icebreaker is being built for the Russian Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport and will be operated by the FGI Gosmorspassluzhba (Russian Marine Emergency Rescue Service) in the Gulf of Finland.
The Baltica is the first in a series of four icebreakers.
The vessel features an asymmetric hull, patented oblique design and three 360 degrees rotating propulsors, which allow the vessel to operate efficiently sideways, astern and ahead. In oblique mode the vessel will be able to generate 50 m wide channel in 0.6 m thick ice. Bow and stern first the vessel can operate in 1.0 m thick ice. The design of the vessel is based on ARC 100 concept, which has been developed by Aker Arctic Technology.
The Managing Director of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, Esko Mustamäki commented: “I believe this vessel will be the benchmark when developing and building innovative Arctic vessels”.
The head of the Federal Agency for Sea and River Transport “Rosmorrechflot” Alexander Davydenko added: ”This project is very important for Russian Federation. The building of this vessel and its future operation in the Gulf of Finland is a significant step in the co-operation between Finland and Russia”.
When the vessel is delivered, she will be used in the Gulf of Finland in icebreaking, rescue and oil spill response operations. The advanced oil recovery system is suitable for operation also in heavy waves. The vessel measures 76.4 m in length and 20.5 m in breadth. Total power of three main diesel generator sets is 9 MW, propulsion power is 7.5 MW.
Hietalahti, Helsinki based Arctech Helsinki Shipyard Inc. specializes in building icebreakers and other Arctic offshore and special vessels. Arctech is a 50/50 owned JV of STX Finland Oy and Russian United Shipbuilding Corporation. The joint venture agreement was signed in December 2010. The shipbuilding company's workforce is approximately 400 employees.